South State Bank reported a financial milestone at the end of the first quarter of 2015.

“Our capital position exceeds $1 billion for the first time in the company’s history,” said Donna Pullen, spokeswoman for South State Bank. “And we have increased the dividend for the fifth consecutive quarter at a time when some banks are still struggling.”

In its report, the Columbia, South Carolina-based bank stated its earnings per share were up 50 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2015 compared to those of a year earlier. EPS for the first quarter of 2015 increased 12.5 percent over those of the fourth quarter of 2014.

Pullen pointed out that South State Bank’s net income also increased significantly, rising 51
percent in the 12-month period ending March 31.

All of this comes less than two years after South State was formed through the merger of First Financial Holdings Inc. – parent of First Federal Bank, which had seven locations in the Wilmington market  – and SCBT Financial Corporation.

“We’re starting to see the positive impact from the First Federal merger,” said Mark Tyler, South State Bank’s Wilmington market president. “We have it behind us now and have been able to focus on our customers in the market. We’re a growing bank with money to lend, and our community bank model of local decision making puts us closer to our customer.”

One factor in the banking corporation’s financial strength, according to Pullen, is that it has implemented internal cost savings to increase operating efficiency.

“That has helped drive earnings,” she said.

The April 30 report also stated that South State Bank plans to sell 14 of its branches and purchase 13 Bank of America branches in South Carolina and Georgia.

The branches up for sale are “less than six miles from another [South State] location,” with some of that location overlap a result from past mergers, Pullen said. The Bank of America branch acquisitions, if approved by regulators, will give South State Bank entry into six new markets and “fills out our footprint,” Pullen said.

While none of that branch activity is in North Carolina, South State is committed to the Wilmington market, Tyler said, adding that the corporate board held its meeting in Wilmington in March.

“Wilmington was recently ranked as the second-best city in the U.S. to start a business,” he said, citing a recent NerdWallet report.

“It’s a great market. We’ve seen nice deposit and loan growth here, we have an experienced loan team and we can react quickly to loan applications because of our local decision making.”